With ISITC's 21st Annual Forum getting under way in Boston, we have discussed key current developments with Jeff Zoller, Chair of ISITC and Vice President at T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc.

Founded in 1991, the International Securities Association for Institutional Trade Communication (ISITC) is all about improving operational efficiency and mitigating operational risk among custodian banks, investment managers and broker-dealers. ISITC and its Board offer strong leadership and support for its members as they face wide-ranging challenges and opportunities and as they shape their business plans, priorities and vendor relationships.

Last year, ISITC launched a Middle Office Working Group to address issues in the trade processing lifecycle from the point of execution through pre-settlement, focusing on the interaction between the investment manager and broker-dealer. "At this week's Industry Forum and Vendor Show in Boston, the Working Group will host a panel discussing best practices and emerging trends and technologies for trade allocation, matching and confirmation processing," Zoller tells us. "Last year, it assessed the impact of shortening settlement cycles from T+3 to T+2 in Europe, providing education to our membership and sharing experiences post conversion. As the US moves towards T+2 settlement, the Working Group will play a lead role, assisting members in evaluating potential operational risks and developing conversion strategies. It is also developing a best practice recommendation for matching on place of settlement during the trade confirmation process."

The Working Group has been instrumental in helping ISITC grow its broker dealer membership. Through direct outreach, and by providing a forum for broker-dealers to come together and solve common operational challenges, ISITC expects to continue to increase broker-dealer participation through 2015.

ISITC also has an Investment Operations Roundtable which serves as a thought leadership forum for members – sharing ideas and strategies on specific operational and business challenges. "Operational risk has been a focal point in recent meetings," notes Zoller, "and we expect that this group will help define ISITC priorities around operational risk for 2015. While still early in our planning, we see significant interest in evaluating how firms define and measure operational risk, what strategies are employed for managing third-party vendors, and how business growth and regulatory change is impacting risk management practices."

A key part of ISITC's activities relate to developing industry standards and handling new initiatives. Its Regulatory Working Group has partnered with industry organizations to provide feedback on matters such as Legal Entity Identifier (LEI), FATCA and T+2 settlement cycles. Last year, ISITC issued market practice documents for cleared derivatives communications and tri-party repo collateral segregation. The body is now taking a lead role in working with the DTCC as they implement their corporate actions transformation initiative, and is partnering with Omgeo and FIX Protocol Ltd. (FPL) to progress the development of new standing settlement instruction messages.

At the ISITC Annual Forum this week, the theme is ‘Connecting the DOTs: The Future of Data, Operations and Technology'. Karen Peetz, President of BNY Mellon, is delivering the keynote address and setting the scene for how firms can successfully navigate the challenges and changes that lie ahead.

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With ISITC's 21st Annual Forum getting under way in Boston, we have discussed key current developments with Jeff Zoller, Chair of ISITC and Vice President at T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc.

Founded in 1991, the International Securities Association for Institutional Trade Communication (ISITC) is all about improving operational efficiency and mitigating operational risk among custodian banks, investment managers and broker-dealers. ISITC and its Board offer strong leadership and support for its members as they face wide-ranging challenges and opportunities and as they shape their business plans, priorities and vendor relationships.

Last year, ISITC launched a Middle Office Working Group to address issues in the trade processing lifecycle from the point of execution through pre-settlement, focusing on the interaction between the investment manager and broker-dealer. "At this week's Industry Forum and Vendor Show in Boston, the Working Group will host a panel discussing best practices and emerging trends and technologies for trade allocation, matching and confirmation processing," Zoller tells us. "Last year, it assessed the impact of shortening settlement cycles from T+3 to T+2 in Europe, providing education to our membership and sharing experiences post conversion. As the US moves towards T+2 settlement, the Working Group will play a lead role, assisting members in evaluating potential operational risks and developing conversion strategies. It is also developing a best practice recommendation for matching on place of settlement during the trade confirmation process."

The Working Group has been instrumental in helping ISITC grow its broker dealer membership. Through direct outreach, and by providing a forum for broker-dealers to come together and solve common operational challenges, ISITC expects to continue to increase broker-dealer participation through 2015.

ISITC also has an Investment Operations Roundtable which serves as a thought leadership forum for members – sharing ideas and strategies on specific operational and business challenges. "Operational risk has been a focal point in recent meetings," notes Zoller, "and we expect that this group will help define ISITC priorities around operational risk for 2015. While still early in our planning, we see significant interest in evaluating how firms define and measure operational risk, what strategies are employed for managing third-party vendors, and how business growth and regulatory change is impacting risk management practices."

A key part of ISITC's activities relate to developing industry standards and handling new initiatives. Its Regulatory Working Group has partnered with industry organizations to provide feedback on matters such as Legal Entity Identifier (LEI), FATCA and T+2 settlement cycles. Last year, ISITC issued market practice documents for cleared derivatives communications and tri-party repo collateral segregation. The body is now taking a lead role in working with the DTCC as they implement their corporate actions transformation initiative, and is partnering with Omgeo and FIX Protocol Ltd. (FPL) to progress the development of new standing settlement instruction messages.

At the ISITC Annual Forum this week, the theme is ‘Connecting the DOTs: The Future of Data, Operations and Technology'. Karen Peetz, President of BNY Mellon, is delivering the keynote address and setting the scene for how firms can successfully navigate the challenges and changes that lie ahead.